While CC Sabathia and the questionables — sounds like a music group — try to figure out how little rest they can handle, the Phillies might never even get to their bullpen in the postseason.
5. New York Yankees » Sabathia (21-7, 3.18 ERA) can’t do it all by himself, but he might have to. At least in the divisional series they’ll get by with Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28 ERA) and Phil Hughes (18.8, 4.19 ERA), but they may need a fourth starter if they can get past the Twins.
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4. San Francisco Giants » Despite the Giants owning the third-best starting ERA in the majors, Barry Zito (9-14, 4.15 ERA) was still in jeopardy of being left off the postseason roster as of Tuesday, while Tim Lincecum (16-10, 3.43 ERA) and Matt Cain (13-11, 3.14 ERA) both have no playoff experience.
3. Atlanta Braves » If Derek Lowe (16-12, 4.00 ERA) is going to prevent his postseason career from finishing on the back end of the bell curve, he’s got to get the Braves off to a strong start. Following Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.33 ERA), the Braves will come home and unveil ace Tim Hudson (17-9, 2.83 ERA) for Game 3 vs. the Giants.
2. Tampa Bay Rays » If only the playoffs valued quantity over quality. After David Price (19-6, 2.72 ERA) and Matt Garza (15-10, 3.91 ERA), the Rays need to figure out how to fit three more solid guys into two winnable matchups. James Shields (13-15, 5.18 ERA) has their only World Series victory.
1. Philadelphia Phillies » It took 13 years for Roy Halladay (21-10, 2.44 ERA) to get to the postseason, and what better way to finally get there than with a pair of absolute horses alongside him in Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.76 ERA) and 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels (12-11, 3.06 ERA).
